30 Topics: NaLu
by CelestePlue
Summary: *Update every Friday or sooner if I'm nice* What's a better way to waste time than writing 30 oneshots on 30 topics? Nothing but pure NaLu with a bit of other couples thrown in there. (Topic 4: Want)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay minna, I have decided. Since I'm such a big NaLu shipper, I'm going to make a 30 topic story. Each day, my friend will be giving me a different topic and I have to write a oneshot about it. I can't change the topic and there will be no repeats. Minimum amount of words will be 1,000, maximum, 3,000. Simple enough… I hope. Anyhow, this story will be updated every Wednesday, so look forward to it! It's my first time doing anything like this so I hope it's not too bad…**

**Disclaimer: Celeste doesn't own anything here. Yadda yadda yadda. **

_**And so the first topic is… **_

* * *

_Forgiveness_

Oh he was in for it now!

As Happy swirled around the room, tears flowing freely down his face, Natsu was trying to keep calm.

_Trying. _

Oh what the hell! He followed Happy's lead and started to run around the room, panicking to the gods he knew and didn't know existed!

"Natsu!" Happy wailed, latching onto his scarf for comfort. "L-Lucy will be mad at us! And then she'll never want to be friends anymore, and then we won't be able to visit anymore, and then she won't give me anymore fish! Natsu! I really like Lucy's fish!" And the Exceed broke out in sobs once more.

Natsu held onto the little ball of blue fur, trying to calm him and _himself_ down. Taking one last glance at the object, he couldn't help but cringe and turn away, feeling guilt eat at his heart once more. Oh yeah… Lucy would _definitely_ flip her shit this time.

"It's okay Happy," he told the cat. The blue bundle of tears looked up at Natsu with wide tearful eyes. "I'll get us out of this mess and Lucy won't be mad."

Happy sniffled. "R-Really?"

The salmon-haired mage grinned sheepishly. "M-Maybe… I was getting my hopes a little too high there." Happy wailed again and started pounding on Natsu's chest with his little blue paws.

"Natsu! We can't let her see this!" he exclaimed. "She'll shave me! I don't want to be shaved!"

"Then lets figure a way _out_ of this mess!" the dragon slayer said, letting go of the Exceed. He turned around and faced the bed that was now burnt to a crisp and cringed again. Well… Lucy definitely wasn't going to be happy about this. Hell, _he _wasn't happy about this! He cared about this bed! He loved this bed! It was so soft and plushy – like Lucy's stomach – nice and cozy, and it smelled of the Celestial Spirit mage. Every time he wanted to relax, he'd hop in through the window, and pass out on the bed, drowning himself in Lucy's scent. He didn't know what it was – and frankly he didn't care – but her smell was just so… so…. Now what was the word for it? Lucy said it all the time. Interpreting? The hell did that mean? Intropical? Was that even a word? Intoxicating? Yeah! That was it! Even though he had no clue what the word meant, he knew it meant something good, like food, and Happy, and fights, and her smell.

But… Now that smell was gone and was replaced by the smell of burnt fabric, which didn't sit well with Lucy's vanilla type scent.

Smoke and vanilla… Hmm…

"Natsu!" Happy cried, breaking the dragon slayer out of his thoughts. Right! The bed! "What'll we do?!"

The fire breather tried to think of a possible solution to this mess, but his brain was being jumbled up! What could he do? Well he couldn't set it on fire again and watch it burn the place down, and watch it as it burned other places down, and soon the whole town, and then the forest…

And then the world. Actually… He might want to see that.

Some people want to watch the world burn.

"Natsu!" Happy screeched in his ear. Said man flinched and stuck his pinky in his ear. "We need a plan!"

Oh right… The bed was still a bundle of ash. Crossing his arms, Natsu looked towards Happy.

"Let's try closing our eyes and counting to ten. Maybe that'll work?" He closed his eyes and Happy followed suit.

One… two… three… wait, what comes after three? Five? Then came eight… Six? Then what was next? Ah fuck it! Ten! Natsu opened his eyes and saw Happy was murmuring to himself, a little trickle of drool flowing down with his eyes closed in relaxation.

"Fish… Fish… Fish…"

"Happy!"

"Ten!" the Exceed exclaimed. "I counted ten fish!"

How did the little blue cat know how to count to ten and he didn't? "Count for me," he commanded, hoping he'd learned a little bit of something.

"Aye sir!" Happy held up his paws and pushed down a finger as he went along. "One, two, three… five… Nine… six… Ten!" the blue cat exclaimed, holding up his paws in a triumphant gesture.

Natsu didn't know whether to trust his counting or not.

Probably not. Happy was only six, he knew that much about numbers from what Erza taught him.

"Natsu… The bed is still black…" he heard Happy whimper.

Oh yeah… The bed…

The door creaked open and in walked the blonde with her hands filled with bags. "Natsu? You still in here? Help me with these bags!" she ordered. Happy and the pink haired mage looked at each other in fright before dashing out of the room and into the living room where Lucy was casually setting down her groceries and keys.

"H-Hey, Luce!" Natsu exclaimed nervously, before grabbing her wrist and a bunch of bags, dragging her into the kitchen while Happy shut the bedroom door. "H-How was shopping? Tiring right? Whatever you do, don't go in your room."

"Yeah! Natsu burned your bed!" Happy said and all three of their eyes widened.

Silence. Something which Natsu and Happy didn't like.

"Come again?" Lucy asked.

Happy looked at Natsu. Natsu looked at Happy. Both looked at the door. The door remained unmoving. They looked at Lucy, who was looking at the door, before looking back at each other. Lucy looked at them. They froze.

"What did you say?" she asked again, her voice a bit lower but all the more scary. Happy and Natsu backed away and looked at her with apologetic eyes.

"I-I'm sorry!" the dragon slayer exclaimed. Really, it surprised Lucy – although she didn't let it show – that he was actually… _apologizing_. She'd never heard Natsu apologize as to her – and if he did, she must not have been paying attention – so it was sort of a shocker. "I was just bored, so I started playing with my fire, it caught on your curtain – sorry about that too – and then it landed on the bed! I couldn't get water fast enough and before we knew it, there's a big pile of ash on the floor." He looked down guiltily and her eyes softened. He was too adorable when he looked like that.

"We're sorry Lucy," Happy said from beside her. His eyes were filled with tears as he held his paws together in a praying gesture. "Please don't get too mad. We just wanted to wait for you so we could help. We didn't mean to burn your bed... Please let us stay friends." The cat sniffled and Lucy couldn't help but feel a little heartbroken seeing how earnest he was.

Wait… Did they think she wouldn't be friends with them because they burned her bed? Sure she was a little ticked – more like a LOTtle ticked – but that was a stupid reason to ever defriend them! They were Nakama and even if they burned her bed, it would be pretty hard to say that she didn't want to be friends with them anymore!

"Jeez you guys," she breathed. "You always have to destroy _something_."

The two idiots lifted their heads in confusion with a tad bit of amusement sprinkled somewhere in there.

"Lucy…?" Happy asked softly.

"You're just lucky that I chose today to pick a new bed. I was planning on giving you guys the… charred one anyway." She scowled and started putting her groceries in the cabinets they belonged in. Happy and Natsu just looked at each other. Was she being serious? Lucy observed their reactions with a small smirk. It was funny seeing them confused about things. "Oh well," she sighed. "I guess you guys get no bed."

"Wait… What?" Natsu asked, walking up to the blonde and setting his hands on her shoulders. "Y-You mean you aren't… Mad?"

"No? Why would I be mad?" she asked innocently. Natsu looked at her like she was growing another mouth.

"W-We burned your bed! The thing we sleep on! I pictured you'd be stomping around here with fire spewing –"

"When did you learn the word 'spewing'?"

"– out of your mouth!" the salmon man finished.

"Yeah! And using your squishy belly to suffocate us!" Happy added, causing the blonde to swipe at him with a pink blush tinting her cheeks.

"Well, I told I got a new bed and you charred the one you would've gotten. Either way, I benefit." She grinned at Natsu's scowl. "Even if you did burn my curtain, I forgive you. It wasn't anything major and I could just buy a new one tomorrow, 'kay?"

Natsu stood there with his mouth agape as Lucy smiled brightly. She wasn't mad? Well, she just confirmed it by not stomping on him now so he guessed she wasn't. Slowly his mouth pulled up into a grin as he pulled her in for a quick – but bone crushing hug – and pulled away. "Thanks Luce!" He exclaimed. Said female had a blushed coating her cheeks from the unexpected contact. "You're always so forgiving!"

The Celestial Spirit mage smiled. Well she couldn't be mad at them for very long, especially when they looked at her so apologetically before. Plus she really couldn't stay mad at the man who she liked more than a nakama. But she wouldn't push that on the man, he already had enough to deal with.

That flying blue cat was one.

"But you do have to go clean up your mess," she scolded before pointing at her still closed bedroom door. The two boys saluted with a loud 'Aye sir' before running into the room with a broom and dustpan. She smiled fondly at the two before turning back to her groceries.

She never noticed how much of a forgiving person she was until she joined the guild. Forgiveness takes strength right? She had that! After all, she forgave her _father_ of all people and he was the _worst_! That's saying something right there. Saying that she had a lot of dang strength. She guessed it was in her nature to be forgiving since most people weren't. If it were any other person's bed, they might not have forgiven Natsu so easily.

"Even though he is a handful, I can't be mad at him for long," she muttered to herself.

"That's because you liiike him," Happy whispered in her ear. She blushed and swatted him away.

"But you are a different story cat!" she exclaimed, running after the poor thing.

"_The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."_

_~Ghandi~_

* * *

**So, there goes the first one. What do you think? Was it too mushy? Too stupid? Should I discontinue it? Wah~ I'm sorry! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that. I had forgiveness in there even though it was mostly humor. But hey, I can bend the rules a LOTTA bit. Oh! And don't forget, I have a tumblr, used for sneak peeks and favorite ships. Don't know the name, look at mah bio. Maybe I might post a preview for the next chapter, who knows.**

**Please leave a review and join me next Wednesday or earlier for the next chapter, whatever. Ja ne!**

**Plue~chan**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow… I'm surprised at the amount of responses I got after the first chapter. Thank you guys, it means a lot! I thought I wouldn't receive much considering this idea has been used a bunch of times and I feel as though people are getting tired of it. But you all proved me wrong! So thank you again and for your prize, you get a new chapter!**

**Disclaimer: DON'T RUB IT IN MASHIMA….. sama…**

_**And this chapter is about…**_

* * *

_Vanity_

"Open the gate of the Ram! Aries!"

A fluffy looking woman poofed out, looking a bit hesitant as she faced her master. "I'm sorry!" she squeaked. Lucy sighed and faced her opponent.

It wasn't something that could be called beautiful, nor something that would be called ugly. It was… meh. It had the form of a giant wolf with mud brown fur that was covered in different types of… rubble. It didn't smell too pleasant nor was it easy to look at. Maybe if it took a quick dip in the pond once in a while, it'd be a pretty majestic creature that she would love to keep. However, there was something wrong with this animal/thing.

It was very cocky.

It'd believed itself to be the very best species alive in Fiore – which she wasn't so sure about – with its super skills and whatnot. It had amazing speed, razor sharp teeth – did she mention they were yellow? – and soft fur that she felt when it nearly bit her. This wolf-like animal could talk and the only thing that came out of its mouth was a snotty remark about its skill. Really, she would have loved to fight this animal fair if it wasn't so damn conceited!

The blonde looked over to her Spirit and then to her companion. He had his eyebrows furrowed in concentration – which was very rare for the latter – and his mouth turned downwards into a frown of irritation. Lucy knew that he was just as annoyed with this animal as she was.

"U-Um…" Aries started, "I'm sorry for interrupting you Miss Lucy, but what should I do?"

"Ha! That thing is good looking enough to eat, but it ain't as good looking as me," the beast stated with a waggle of his dirt caked eyebrows. Lucy wanted to find some water so she could summon Aquarius and clean the thing. It was too gross to look at.

"I-I'm sorry?" Aries said, looking back at her Master for further instructions. Lucy nodded and looked towards Natsu.

"You stay back. I can handle this one," she said. Natsu scowled.

"No the hell you won't! I wanna take care of this damn thing!"

Lucy sighed. The boy was ready for a fight anytime but he also forgot that she needed to get stronger as well! "I got it! You always do the fighting. How am I supposed to get stronger if you're taking them all out?"

"By training with that one spirit you got. Capri-sun right?"

Lucy growled. "_Capricorn_, you big nut!" she corrected. If he was her partner, then he could at least know the names of her Spirits. She knew the names of his attacks! "I wanna fight this battle! You're watching!" she ordered.

"Well, it'll take a while before you can beat _this_," the beast said, shaking his fur in a luscious movement before transforming into a man, who was quite attractive. Shoulder length brown hair pulled back into a low ponytail, striking green eyes, plump lips, lean body, he was pretty damn sexy. But it still didn't change the fact that he was still as dirty as a dish rag. "Sometimes I wonder, who could possibly beat such beauty?" he said and ran a hand through his dirty hair, making Lucy gag and Natsu scrunch up his nose.

"Maybe if you take a shower, you'd smell as good as you 'look'," Natsu said, pinching his nose. The man seemed to brighten.

"You do acknowledge –"

"The hell does that mean?"

" – that I'm beautiful!" The man took out his hair and let it blow in the wind. "It's not every day you find such beauty in the forest. I, for one, am struggling to keep my spirits lifted knowing that there isn't anyone else in the world that can compare to my beauty. The blonde over there is a beauty but she isn't a man, unless she's hiding something in that underwear of hers."

"Hey!" Lucy squeaked, blushing madly.

"Oh? Did I strike a nerve?" the man/beast asked grinning.

"I've had enough out of you! Now Aries!"

The timid lamb jumped before yawping out an apology and placing a hand in front of her, turning away from the scene as if she was scared. "_Wool bomb_!"

Pink fluffy wool surrounded the man and he sighed in relaxation. "Ah yes. A prince does need his throne. Something soft that feels great against my delicate and flawless skin."

"_Karyu no Tekken!_" Natsu shouted, punching the man square in the jaw. The dragon slayer jumped back with a smirk and the man fell off of the wool with a bruise on his face.

"Close the gate!" Lucy said before walking over to the pink-haired mage and grabbing him by the ear, pulling him down. "Natsu!" she screeched and Natsu reeled back a bit before she pulled him back in. "I thought I told you I would handle it, you big idiot!" She let him free and he held his ear in pain.

"Well he was enjoying the wool! I had to do something to cause him pain!"

Lucy was about to shout again until she was forcefully tackled to the ground, smacking her head hard against the dirt and feeling a bit hazy afterwards. She looked up to see dirty brown fur and yellow traps growling at her partner and felt what seemed to be a paw on her neck, nearly cutting off her air supply. Quickly, her hands flew up to wrap themselves around the appendage, but that only seemed to increase the weight. She coughed and wheezed, trying to get _some_ air into her system.

Natsu glared menacingly at the big bear that was towering over Lucy. She seemed to look a bit confused and her eyes seemed to look a bit hazy. Maybe that animal had tackled her so hard she hit her head. It growled and snapped it jaw in Natsu's direction.

"Y-You ruined my face! My perfect face is now touched with a bruise! Do you have any idea what you have done?!" the bear cried, increasing the weight on Lucy's neck. She coughed and squirmed but he wasn't letting up. Natsu clenched a fist.

"You have too much pride for my liking," he ground out between clenched teeth. "Ain't nothing 'perfect' about that dirty ass face you have."

The bear reeled back in hurt before lunging at the dragon slayer. Natsu successfully evaded the attack, quickly stepping in front of Lucy and helping her stand as she coughed and wheezed, trying to fill her lungs with the much needed air. "You alright?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the enemy, who was grinding its teeth with a murderous look in his eye.

The blonde coughed again before answering. "I-I'll be fine." She glared at the beast and it glared back. "It's okay to be proud of your looks, but you take it to a whole new level."

"Oh? And I suppose you do any better? I bet you're a cocky little woman too aren't you?" he asked, getting in an attack position.

"That's right, I am cocky, but there's a big difference between pride and vanity, idiot. You're too conceited –"

"What's that mean?"

" – for your own good," Lucy said, ignoring Natsu's question. "I despise vain men. They never focus on anything else but their looks," she muttered more to herself than anyone else. _Natsu's not vain… In the looks department but he's pretty confident when it comes to fighting. But hey, it's the truth_, she thought with a tiny shrug.

The bear/man growled and lunged at the two. Natsu pushed Lucy back further and cupped his mouth. "_Karyu no Houkou!_" he chanted as fire erupted from his mouth. The bear recoiled with a whimper and tried to turn and run, but the flames touched him before he could make a full 180.

The animal/human yawped and jumped in pain, running away as the fire engulfed its body. Natsu and Lucy sighed, the blonde falling to the ground.

"Really Natsu," she said and the fire breather looked at her. "You didn't let me get one attack in."

"What are you talking about?! You used Ariel and her wool attack!"

Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose. "_Aries_ Natsu. God, learn your Zodiac. And that was only a distraction!"

"A good enough distraction for me to hit 'em."

"Natsu!" She swiped him on the arm as he grinned. Really, was his grin contagious? Because she soon found herself giggling and shaking her head. He was a whole different ball game, but she wouldn't have wanted it either way. He protected her in her time of need and she didn't mind if he was her savior. Of course, she didn't want a vain man like that transformer mage they just fought. As he stated earlier, she couldn't stand those men. Only caring about their looks, swelling their chests with pride that they shouldn't deserve.

"Yo, weirdo!" Natsu called and Lucy blinked, looking over him and seeing his concerned expression. "You alright? How's your head? You smacked it pretty hard when you landed."

A soon as he said that, pain shot across her skull and she held it with a little groan. "Well, now it hurts. I didn't pay attention to the pain while we were fighting," she admitted. Somewhere in the back of her aching brain, she hoped Natsu would take her head in his heads and inspect the wound. But knowing that dense idiot, he probably wasn't even thinking about that.

He stood up suddenly, startling Lucy as he bent down in front of her. "Get on." She blinked in confusion. "I know you can hear me."

"W-Wait… What are you doing?" she couldn't help but blush, knowing that he wanted to give her a piggy back ride.

"Get on my back," he commanded.

"Why?"

"Cause won't your head hurt more if you walk? If you're on my back you won't hurt yourself much and we can get back faster so you can rest."

He smiled at her as she stared at him. Was he serious? Was he actually trying to help her out? What's the catch?

"Plus, it's sort of like payment from me burning your bed."

Ah, the catch.

She smiled softly and gently climbed onto his back, taking in deep breaths to try and calm her racing heart. She was pretty sure he could feel and hear it, but she didn't really care. She was content on his warm, muscular back and she couldn't help the smile pulling at her lips.

"Natsu's hot," she whispered, closing her eyes and relaxing her throbbing head on his shoulder. She heard him chuckle and could picture his stupid grin.

"Why thank you, Luce!" Only then did she realize that he'd heard her and was _thanking_ her about it. She automatically saw Happy grinning mischievously as he said his famous line.

_You liiike him_.

She was going to hurt the cat for something her said in her mind.

"_A vain man is a nauseous creature: he is so full of himself that he has no room for anything else, be it never so good or deserving."_

_~William Penn, _Some Fruits of Solitude

* * *

**GAH! No matter how many times I look over this, I still don't like it! I feel there isn't enough NaLu in it! Oh whatever, had to be posted because it was next on the list. DAMMIT! Fine! Next chapter will have NaLu everywhere! You can count on it. Sorry if it disappointed and thank you if it was enjoyed. Not a very good start but I promise you, it will be better. Please look forward to the next one, which might be posted on probably Saturday because I feel so horrible about this one. GAH! I will get you WATSON! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE BECAUSE YOU'RE THE FIRST TO READ THIS! *Sigh* Please leave a review if you can. It would mean a lot to me.**

**Plue~chan**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: And I have a logical reason for not updating on Saturday like I told you all. You see, a couple months ago, my little brother and sister were visiting. Well, I sat my laptop on my dresser to go grab a soda. My dad chased my little sister in my room and her foot caught onto the charger cord. I walked in just as she ran forward, pulling the cord with her foot and taking my laptop to visit the floor below. Well, it wasn't a problem until recently, when the screen started doubling in pretty neon colors. It still works, it's just that I can't see a damn thing. That's my excuse and I hope you accept it. And I'm sorry if there are any errors. Computer hoggers in this household. Enough of this, thank you for the reviews and enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: No. I don't.**

_**And the third topic is…**_

* * *

_Loneliness_

It was one of those days that Lucy felt… alone. She knew she shouldn't be saying that because she had the guild with her. But sometimes, she couldn't help but feel that they weren't enough. She needed her family, her actual family.

She needed her mom.

She was always feeling lonely when she was a kid. Her father ostracized her constantly when he was working after her mother died. Her maids and butlers were always occupied and she couldn't help but feel lonely. Her mother was never really busy so she would always spend time with her. And she loved that. But then she died, leaving her alone with her father that couldn't give a care.

She hated him at one point, but then she forgave him. He was the worst, everyone knew that. He trashed her guild, caused her nakama so much pain, caused her heartache, all because he wanted to get her back. He was the _worst_, but she forgave him. And because she forgave him, it made her feel even more lonely after his death.

Though she didn't want to admit it, she was sort of _depending_ on her father to keep her company. But after the seven year gap, she knew that wasn't possible.

Because he had died a month before.

Lucy let out a sob and blew her nose in a tissue, lying down on her bed and wiping her puffy red eyes. She needed someone to comfort her. Someone to hold her and tell her that it would be okay. All she needed was a friend.

"Luce?"

And there was that friend.

Lucy sat up straight and blinked her eyes to focus on the figure in front of her. Even though it was dark, she could clearly see the white scaly scarf and the salmon colored hair. Quickly wiping her eyes, she turned away to hide her face and red eyes, though she knew he could smell her salty tears. Of all people, why was he the one to come? He wasn't sentimental at all when it came to these type of things.

"Lucy?" a higher voice asked and she already deduced that it was Happy.

"What do you guys want?" she croaked out, trying to sound irritated yet normal. She definitely didn't want Happy seeing her in her most vulnerable state.

"I came to eat your food –"

"And fish –"

"But you seem a little upset. What's wrong?" Natsu asked.

Lucy looked at them before turning away and burying her face in her pillow, trying to hide the wave of oncoming tears.

"I-It's nothing. I'm fine," she lied. Well, she couldn't tell them the truth! They'd laugh at her and Happy would tell the guild that she crying for something so stupid! That stupid cat.

"Well, you don't _seem_ fine. I smell something salty that obviously must be tears. Why are you crying?"

A tear leaked out of her eyes and soaked into the pillow. Oh, why was she crying when she was just wishing for comfort? "Pft. Crying? Whose crying, idiot? I'm not crying," she tried to joke into the pillow, but it came out as more of a muffled gurgle. Natsu and Happy looked at each other as she curled herself into a ball with shaking shoulders. "I-I'm not… I'm not…" Her shoulders shook rapidly as sobs made their way up her throat and out her mouth.

Natsu's and Happy's eyes widened as they looked at each other. They were no good with crying girls! Even more so if it was Lucy! Sure she cried around them but usually Erza was the one to comfort her! Silently panicking, Happy flew around in circles and Natsu jumped around worriedly. What should they do? What should they do?

Lucy's sobs grew louder and Natsu covered his ears. Happy ran into the kitchen to grab some fish – possibly for himself as a calming mechanism – and the salmon haired man did the first thing that came to mind. Latching onto the pillow that Lucy had to her face, he threw it behind him – knocking over a picture frame that he would replace later – and pulled the blonde into his arms. She gasped in shock but he took that as a sign of hurt, so he gently tightened his grip.

Lucy blinked at the position she was in. Never in a million years, did she think she was ever going to be hugged by Natsu, especially if he was the one who triggered it. But she had to admit that she felt sort of… Nice in his arms. His unnatural body heat surrounded her along with his musky scent that seemed to comfort her. Lucy sighed silently and relaxed a little in his arms.

"What's wrong Luce?" he asked, the baratone of his voice rumbling in chest which vibrated on her cheek. Heat rose to her face as tears blurred her vision.

"I… I feel alone…" she answered honestly, tears dripping onto his bare chest and her hands. Natsu tensed at the feeling of the wetness and the scent, knowing that she was crying again. He didn't know how to approach this situation. What if he said something wrong? What if he caused her to cry more? Then she would kick him out and lock her window!

Oh no.

Okay, he had to take this situation seriously. His comfort was on the line and if he said one bad thing, it could screw everything up. So starting with step one: Coax her feelings so she could talk.

"You dummy."

She started to sob and he tensed, mentally panicking. What did he say?! Was what he said wrong?!

"O-Oi… I'm sorry," he said softly with a panicked expression. Ever so slowly, he lifted a hand up and started to stroke her hair. She threw her arms around his torso, squeezing the living daylights – or because it was nighttime, living nightlights – out of him as her sobs slowly turned into hiccups. He sighed softly and adjusted their position so they were laying down on their sides, her arms still around his torso while one hand was on her waist and one was in her hair.

"Natsu…" she croaked out. Really, this was too much. She wasn't used to being comforted by a guy and she was pretty sure he was going on impulse, not knowing that he was. But she didn't care at the moment. Being in Natsu's open arms was more than enough comfort.

"So you ready to tell me what's wrong?" he asked and she nodded.

"I-I feel lonely…" He opened his mouth to speak but she beat him to it. "I-It's hard not having mom around... And I know I have you guys but… Sometimes that's not enough. I miss father too even though he basically neglected me as a child."

He didn't know what that word meant but he wouldn't ask.

"I can't help but feel lonely sometimes, you know? Sure I have the guild but that's not as good as family…"

"Yeah I know."

Lucy looked up at him through tear blurred eyes.

"Sometimes I wish Igneel was around. But I don't let that get me down… Hey, that rhymed. Anyway, you just have to know that you have people who connect to you and make them your family." He absently started stroking her hair as he looked into her eyes. "You just have to know that you have us to turn to." He smiled.

Lucy blinked before smiling softly and leaning her head onto Natsu's chest. "Yeah…"

She felt something light peck her forehead and blood rushed to her face, but she didn't look at him. Instead, she smiled wider and let herself be carried into the dreamless world.

Now she didn't feel so alone.

_"We are all so much together, but we are all dying of loneliness."_

_~Albert Schweitzer~_

* * *

**I feel as though the quote has nothing to do with the story but I liked it so, why not. I planned on using another topic for this chapter (the NaLu everywhere one) but that was on my laptop, and my laptop is... well it's shit right now. This one's shorter than the rest because I'm typing this from my desktop and I have nosy people in this house. Anyway. I have to go but I hope you enjoyed. Thank you!**

**Plue~chan**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Welp, Plue-chan is still using her desktop and she hates it. Please pardon her use of third person speaking. She made a bet with her friend and if she wins, her friend has to ship her a whole German Chocolate cake. It only works when they are texting but now it's starting to stick to her actual speaking and obviously, her stories. If you readers haven't had German chocolate cake, stop reading, got to the store, and buy a piece of that heaven. It's so good, Plue isn't lying. Anyway, she still managed to update to today so don't go crazy. Thank you all for the support and enjoy reading.**

**Disclaimer: Plue doesn't own.**

_**Fourth topic is…**_

* * *

_Want_

Lucy sat on her bed and crossed her legs with a pouted expression on her face. If her hunch was right, Natsu would be there in about five minutes and she'd have to give him a little _lecture_ about their relationship status.

As of a couple weeks ago, she and Natsu had up-ed their relationship to boyfriend/girlfriend, or in Natsu's terms, mate.

But here's the thing, they never _kissed_!

How is that possible? They've been dating for about two and a half weeks and haven't shared not one damn kiss! How could he claim her as his mate and not even give her a little smooch?! For Christ's sake, she understood that he wanted to wait a little bit but her lips were getting dry! They craved to be latched onto someone else's lips! They wanted to dance!

Lucy groaned and ran her hands through her hair. What was he waiting for?! She constantly told him she loved him and vice versa. She constantly put themselves in a romantic position _just_ so he'd get the hint and kiss her! Hell, she constantly dressed provocatively to gain stares to make him jealous just so he could give her a possessive kiss! It didn't have to be a long one, she just wanted a kiss!

Lucy groaned again and sprawled out on her bed. What was his deal? Why was he waiting so long? Was she not kissable? Did her breath stink and he smelled it, not wanting to kiss her? Oh no. If that was the case… Lucy blushed and dashed to the bathroom, grabbing her toothbrush and running it across her teeth vigorously.

She had bad breath and she didn't know it!

Once she was done, she rinsed her mouth out with mouthwash and sat on her bed again. Now that her mouth was clean, she was determined to score a kiss from him. It was going to happen this week. No interruptions, no excuses, no nothing.

"Yo!"

She jumped at the voice but quickly relaxed seeing it was her current boyfriend. He grinned at her surprise and sat down next to her on the bed. Lucy flushed pink and quickly looked at her lap, feeling suddenly nervous. Why? He wasn't doing anything and she was determined a minute ago!

"H-Hi…" Oh now she was stuttering? The blonde flushed more out of embarrassment. This went noticed by the dragon slayer and he looked at her concerned.

"Are you okay? You're red. You getting a fever?" To test his theory, he put a hand on her forehead and leaned in close. Lucy flushed more as her heart rate increased rapidly.

He. Was. So. Close. This was her chance!

Fluttering her eyes closed, she sighed lightly, letting Natsu smell her fresh breath before leaning in. Said man's eyes widened as he knew what she was trying to do. He cleared his throat and backed away, watching with sadness and a little disappointment as Lucy opened her eyes in confusion. "Looks like you're okay!" He said brightly, ignoring the pang in his heart at her hurt expression. "I'll be back. Goin' to check on Happy right quick." He gave her a quick hug before slamming her window open and jumping out.

Lucy watched him go with tears blurring her eyes. Was she just rejected again? Clenching her fists, she wiped her eyes before grabbing a pillow and screaming into it, loudly. Stupid Natsu. Stupid heart. Stupid Happy – even though he didn't do anything, she just felt the need to blame him for something.

She screamed again before pulling the pillow away with a determined face. She was going to get that kiss.

.

Lucy had her arm looped in Natsu's as they walked down the street. He told her he'd accompany her to the store the next time she went, though she told him not to worry because she knew he hated shopping – what man didn't? Being the persistent person he was, he told her to shut up and let him go. She sighed and allowed him to. So now, as she walked on the perch of the canal with Natsu's hand entwined with hers, she couldn't help but think this was a perfect time to score her kiss.

"Hey Natsu?" she started, breaking the comfortable silence casually.

"What's up Luce?" he responded just as casually. She stopped walking and turned to him, putting her hands on his shoulders. He raised an eyebrow. God was she weird.

"Why haven't we kissed yet?" she asked bluntly with a light pink lining her cheeks. Natsu on the other hand, tried to look innocent at the question when on the inside, he was quite embarrassed.

"W-Well…" Now he was stuttering for a reason he didn't understand. "I-I think t-that if we _k-k-kissed_," he spat the word out forcefully, "now, it'd be m-moving too fast!"

_What a lame excuse_, they both couldn't help but think.

Lucy sighed and gave him a hug. "Oh Natsu," she stated sympathetically. "Natsu, Natsu, Natsu. My stupid, little Natsu. You, my dear, suck at excuses."

The pink-haired mage scowled at the insult. She would be the one to say something like that. If Erza had said that, he'd tell her he wasn't stupid or little. If Gray had said that, well, the guild would be in pieces. He'd make Gray take back what he said – especially the 'my dear' because he wasn't allowed to say stuff like that to a guy, ever – and exchange fists with him. If all else failed, well, he had Erza.

She was one scary b –

"How about now?"

Natsu blinked before facing Lucy, who had a smile on her face. She had interrupted his thoughts on Erza that he knew he couldn't say aloud because he didn't want to die and leave Lucy alone yet. She was too special. "Now what?" he asked.

"How about we have our first kiss now?"

Natsu – knowing that this wasn't his character – blushed a bit and looked away with a racing heart. Damn. He tried to prolong this moment for as long as he could. He, himself, wasn't ready for this step! This k-k-_kiss _could lead to something more and he wasn't ready!

Wait… Since when wasn't he ready? This was a huge blow to his ego. He was scared of a kiss! The hell kind of shit was this?! He was starting to sound like Gray!

He was determined to get a kiss now!

"Alright! I'm all fired up!" he exclaimed pumping a fist in the air, just barely avoiding Lucy's face. She backed up to dodge the attack with a squeak.

Water and a shout.

^_^;

Lucy wrapped the towel closer to her body, shivering at the sudden drop in temperature. All those times, those men on the boat told her to be careful when she was standing on there. They told her she was going to fall but she always brushed it off. Lucy sighed as Natsu brought a warm cup of tea to her.

"I'm scared to drink this," she admitted, staring at the content inside the cup with slightly frightened eyes. It wasn't brown like it supposed to be. In fact, it was almost red. "What did you put in here? A-and…" She squinted her eyes and poked the drink. "What the hell is this?"

Natsu looked inside the cup before he grinned. "Well, I decided to add a couple things in there. You're a part of me and Happy so I added a lot of hot sauce and a piece of fish in there!"

Lucy suppressed a gag and forced a smile. What kind of taste buds did her idiot boyfriend have?! "Natsu, could you do me favor and grab me a night gown out of my dresser? I can't stay in these wet clothes for too long. I might catch a cold."

"Sure thing." He saluted before walking over to her bureau and rummaging through it, throwing out the clothes she didn't need at the moment. Lucy turned to her open window and threw the drink out quickly before turning back around with a smile. Natsu turned around with a grin, holding up a pink night gown for her. "Here ya go."

"Thank you," she said and put her now empty cup on the dresser.

"You finished your tea that quickly?"

She nodded with a nervous smile. "Y-Yeah… It was… Different in a… good way?" He grinned, taking that as a positive response and sat down next to her with a sudden serious expression.

"Sorry for knocking you into the canal," he apologized. She blinked before coming up with an idea.

Lucy grinned mischievously and leaned forward. "Oh it's okay," she cooed sweetly. Natsu looked at her suspiciously causing her to grin more. "You'll just have to pay me back."

"I-I have to go check on Happy!" he said nervously and started to get up but she tackled him, causing them both to hit the floor. They grunted and Lucy pinned his arms to the floor as he gulped. Why was his mate so damn scary and when the hell did she get so _strong_?

He looked up at her grinning face and couldn't help but shiver a little bit at her intense/determined gaze. He gulped. "L-Luce…?"

"Come on Natsu!" she half shouted a bit irritated. "Why don't you want to kiss me? Am I that detestable?"

"I-I don't know what that means –"

"Why?" she asked softly, blinking back the tears threatening to spill. "One kiss is all I ask…"

Now he felt guilty. Truth be told, he wanted to kiss her but the reason he couldn't was an embarrassment. He wanted to show her that he cared, but his inability to do so shot his pride out of the sky. What would everyone at the guild think of him? Knowing that he couldn't even give her a simple kiss? Knowing that he couldn't –

Natsu shook his head. It was too embarrassing to even _think_ that he couldn't do something so simple.

"Natsu…" Her voice broke him out of his thoughts. "Answer me."

This was one thing he couldn't tell anyone about because he knew they wouldn't let it go. Hell, Happy knew, and he made sure the cat sworn to secrecy before he left the house. But Lucy was different. He could trust her because she was his mate. Plus, she'd probably be able to help him get over his… condition. He sighed.

"It's not that I don't want to _kiss_ you." He spat the foreign word out. "It's just that I _can't_."

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

He turned his head to hide his embarrassed blush. "I-I _can't_. I don't know _how_ to."

Her mouth opened into an 'o'. So that was why he never initiated to action. He couldn't because he didn't know how to kiss, and he didn't want to embarrass himself. Lucy held back a giggle. Was that what he was so worried about? God, he was something else. She knew since she first joined the guild that he wasn't the romantic type and he never paid attention to things like love. So no doubt he wouldn't know how to lay a fat one on her.

"Okay. To avoid your ego being deflated, I'll teach you." She smiled and he blinked, looking at her. "All you have to do is listen to me – now don't give me that look. You will listen," she commented after she saw him scowl. He sighed and nodded, albeit, a bit hesitantly. "Now, close your eyes and pucker your lips." Seeing his eyes still open and his lips still pursed, she removed her hands from his wrist and used one to cover his eyes and the other to squeeze his cheeks together. Better.

Slowly, she closed her eyes, not believing that she actually about to do this, and lowered her head. Once her lips touched his, it was like a spark shot through both parties. She felt him tense and ever so slowly, she moved her lips against his. He relaxed a little and started to copy her movements. Lucy removed both of her hands and moved to cup his cheeks and he relaxed his hands on the small of her back.

Though he never knew how to kiss, she had to admit that he was doing a splendid job, causing her heart to flutter and butterflies to fly around in her stomach. If she was standing, she would've been crouching because even lying down, he made her body go weak, the way his warm lips caressed hers and his warm tongue sliding lightly over her lip. She didn't know if he knew what he was doing – hell, she didn't want to think right now because her mind was so fuzzy – but she willingly obliged, opening her mouth just a bit before both of their tongues touched, shooting pleasurable sensations throughout their bodies. Oh god, she never wanted this to end. He was so experienced that it nearly put her to shame, or it was probably because he was a fast learner.

The need for air arose and both parties split apart, their eyelids fluttering open to gaze into each other's eyes. Lucy stoked her thumb across his cheek with a soft smile and he replied with a grin.

"How was it?" she asked.

She was answered with his lips sealed on hers.

"_If you want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it."_

_~Mother Teresa~_

* * *

**Okay so after this had been typed, Plue's laptop starting working again. Is it wrong that she wanted it to have the pretty neon colors again? No? Okay well that makes her day. On a side note, Plue feels as though she hasn't been doing very well on these challenges so far. Well, she's going to step up her game and start doing better! Oh! She deleted Just Go Along With It becaue she forgot the plot. Bleh. Anyways, thank you for reading and please leave a review, letting Plue know what you think.**

**And also, Plue is changing the update days to Friday. Wednesday is starting to get really busy. So she won't be updating this coming Friday, but the Friday after.**

**Plue~chan**


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